


Remember Me

by rowanix



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Autistic Keith (Voltron), Canon Continuation, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Lance (Voltron) Has ADHD, M/M, Season 5 Spoilers, Spoilers, Touch-Starved Keith (Voltron), and get inspired by fanart, beginnings of klance, continuation from season 5, i have an overactive imagination ok, keith and krolia hugs, klance hugs, yes i know season 5 just came out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 01:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13893549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowanix/pseuds/rowanix
Summary: Know that I’m with youThe only way that I can beUntil you’re in my arms againRemember meKeith's been reunited with his mother. Should be all love and hugs, right? Except life's a little more complicated than that.





	Remember Me

**Author's Note:**

> *CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR SEASON 5*

Keith gripped the ship’s controls tightly. Too tightly.

Krolia sat in the copilot's seat beside him. The silence between them was thick. Keith hadn’t spoken a word to her since he’d found out she was his-

He shook his head, trying in vain to clear his racing thoughts; he needed to focus on piloting the ship out of there. What if more Galra ships showed up? He couldn’t risk being distracted.

Krolia cleared her throat, a vague attempt to fill the silence a little. “You look a lot like your father,” she said. Keith knew she was just trying her best to ease some of the tension between them, but the mention of his father made his heart give an unpleasant jolt. “How is he?”

Keith swallowed down the thick feeling in his throat, and when he managed to speak, his voice came out colder than he intended.

“He’s dead.”

Krolia was silent for a moment and Keith didn’t turn to see her reaction, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the black stretch of cosmos before him.

“I… I am sorry,” she said at last. “I did not know.”

“Well, how would you?” Keith hadn’t meant for that to sound so harsh, hadn’t meant to say it at all, but it had just come out, and once he started, he found he couldn’t stop. “You weren’t there,” he spat. “You left and I had _no one_.”

“Keith, you must know I had good reason-”

“What?!” Keith shot back, finally turning his head to look at her, at her wide, shocked eyes. There was something else there, too. Something that looked a lot like guilt.  “What reason could you possibly have for leaving behind your three-year-old?!” He felt his voice crack and turned back to the console. “I… I thought I’d done something wrong.”

“Keith-”

“Just stop, okay?” said Keith, suddenly feeling exhausted. He couldn’t deal with this right now. He just had to get her back to base, and then he’d have some time to think.

The intercom flashed and Keith opened a transmission from Kolivan.

“Keith, our position has been compromised,” Kolivan informed him, blunt as ever.

“What do you mean ‘compromised’?!” Keith blurted. “What’s happening?”

“There’s nothing you can do right now,” Kolivan replied. Behind him, lights were flashing red and Keith could hear shouts and guns firing in the distance. “We have this under control, but it is not safe for you to return right now. We need you to lie low for a while.”

“‘Lie low’?!” Keith repeated. “But what am I supposed to do with her?!” He threw his arm back in the general direction of Krolia.

“I’m sure your friends at the Castle of Lions will be accommodating,” Kolivan replied, and before Keith could protest more, Kolivan’s image vanished from the screen.

“Castle of Lions?” Krolia repeated. “That is where the Paladin’s of Voltron reside, is it not?”

Keith sighed. That was the last place he wanted to take Krolia when he was still trying to figure things out, but he had no other choice, so he sent his coordinates to the castle and requested they wormhole their way to him.

“I guess it’s time for you to meet my friends.”

* * *

 

Keith took his time landing the spacecraft in the shuttle bay of the castle, dreading having to introduce Krolia to his friends. What was he supposed to do? Just walk right up to them and say ‘Hey, this is my mom! She abandoned me when I was just a kid, but I found her again! Everything’s just _great!_ ’?

Or maybe he could pretend she was just a random Blades of Marmora agent like she was supposed to be in the first place.

The first thing he heard when he stepped off the ship was Lance shouting his name excitedly.

“Keith! My man! It’s been so long!”

Keith looked up to see the paladin running towards him, and his heart gave a jolt when he realised Lance seemed to be about to fling his arms around him, but he stopped short when he saw Krolia, and stood there gaping for an uncomfortably long moment. Keith silently prayed that he wasn’t about to try flirting.

“Um, good evening,” Krolia greeted. “You must be one of Keith’s friends.”

“Holy. Quiznak,” Lance said, then his mouth split into a grin. “Keith! I can’t believe you found your mom!”

Well, that saved him one conversation.

“Wait, what?!” Keith exclaimed. “How do you know she’s my mom?! _I_ didn’t know she was my mom!”

“ _Dude_ ,” said Lance in complete disbelief. “You look, like, _exactly_ the same.” He raised an amused eyebrow at Krolia. “So, you’re where he gets his terrible hair from.”

“Excuse me?” said Krolia.

“We don’t look alike,” Keith protested, frowning at Krolia for a moment before turning back to Lance. “She’s a woman. And she’s purple.”

He was half-expecting Lance to start making fun of him, but the other boy just gave him an odd look.

The bay doors opened and Shiro walked in. “Keith! It’s good to see you,” he greeted, pulling Keith in for a quick hug. “The other’s are kind of busy right now, I’m afraid. There’s been a lot going on. I’ll tell you all about it later.” He turned to Krolia and smiled. “Who’s your friend?”

“It’s Keith’s mom!” Lance blurted.

Shiro raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. “Well, I do see a resemblance,” he said, and Keith frowned. He extended his hand out to Krolia who took it. “I’m Shiro, and this is Lance. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Krolia,” Krolia replied with a slight nod of her head. “And likewise.”

Shiro shot a quick look at Keith, a knowing look in his eye, then he turned back to Krolia and smiled. “How about I introduce you to the others? I’m sure Keith could do with a rest.”

Krolia looked over at her son and Keith caught a glimpse of something flash in her eyes. A mixture of sorrow, pity, guilt maybe? Then she levelled her expression and smiled at Shiro. “I would love to meet the rest of Keith’s friends. Thank you, Shiro.”

Keith watched as they left the room and the doors slid shut behind them.

“So,” said Lance, grinning at Keith. “Your mom, huh? I can’t believe you found her! That’s so awesome!”

Keith shrugged. “I guess.”

“You guess?” Lance repeated, frowning at Keith. “Dude, you have your mom back! Do you know how amazing that is?”

Keith shrugged again and began walking towards the door. He could really do with hacking at some training dummies right about now. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated?” Lance repeated, incredulous as he jogged after Keith. “What’s complicated? You have your mom back! Do you have any idea what I’d do to be able to see my mom again?”

“That’s different, Lance!” Keith exclaimed, stopping suddenly and nearly causing Lance to collide with him. “Your mom never left you!”

“No, but I left her!” Lance blurted. His eyes widened as he realised what he’d said, then he frowned and looked towards the floor. “I left her,” he repeated. “And I didn’t want to, but... it was for the best, right? I’m helping to save the universe! And now…” He looked up at Keith again, eyebrows furrowed. “What if I go back, and she hates me for leaving? Like you hate your mom for leaving you?”

Keith blinked. He hadn’t thought about how his mother must be feeling about all of this. “I… I don’t hate her…” he said.

“Well, you’re acting like it!” Lance exclaimed. He let out a breath and calmed down a little. “Keith, I know this must be hard for you, but you’ve gotta remember how hard this must be for Krolia too. You’ve spent so many years apart. Now you’re together again, don’t waste it.”

“I know, Lance,” said Keith, starting to walk again. “I just… I need more time.”

“I know, man,” said Lance, keeping pace beside him. “Just don’t wait forever, yeah?”

As he walked, Keith brushed his hand over the handle of the blade he kept sheathed to his belt. His mother’s blade. He wanted to hate her, for leaving him when he was so young, for shattering his father’s heart…

He was too young to remember clearly what it had been like back when the three of them were still together, living in that little hut. The memories he had were fleeting; echoes of her laugh, snatches of her smile. He remembered how his father’s eyes glistened around her, how they would sit outside on the sand when the nights were clear, his mother cradling him in her lap, showing him the stars, and how he longed to see those stars up close, to be up there with them.

And he remembered the hole she created when she left, remembered the day his father stopped smiling so brightly.

He wanted to hate her for it, wanted to hate her so much…

But he couldn’t.

* * *

 

Keith sat on the bed in his old room, fiddling with the strap on his glove. The bed felt cold, the room hollow and empty. He’d changed into his old human clothes in an attempt to feel more at home, but he itched to get back out there fighting. He wondered how Kolivan and the other Blades were doing, whether they’d managed to defeat the invasion. And he thought about his mom. He couldn’t not; his mind was still racing, still battling with itself. He willed it to be quiet, digging his nails into the strap of his glove in an attempt to ground himself somewhat, but his mind wouldn’t listen.

There was a knock on his door and Keith, welcoming the distraction, stood from his bed and called for whoever it was to come in.

“Hey, man,” Lance greeted, and the door slid shut behind him as he entered the room. “You doing alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” said Keith. He didn’t mean to sound so blunt.

Lance rolled his eyes. “You know why.”

Keith just shrugged and crossed his arms, needing the pressure against his chest.  Lance watched him for a moment, then looked away and rubbed the back of his head a little awkwardly.

“Listen,” he started, “I, uh, I got you something.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out an object attached to a string. “This is mine, actually, but I think you’ll get more use out of it. Maybe it’ll help you take your mind off your mom for a little while.”

He held out his hand and dropped the object into Keith’s outstretched palm. Keith looked down at it, eyes wide. It was a necklace, but the pendant was made of rubber and in the shape of a shark.

“It’s chewable,” Lance explained. “For stimming.”

Keith looked up at him in shock.

“Oh, don’t worry! I washed it!” Lance said hurriedly. “My mom got it for my ADHD, but I never really used it, I prefer bouncing my leg and-”

“It’s not that,” Keith interrupted. “How did you…?”

“Figure out you’re autistic?” Lance finished. Keith just nodded. Lance shook his head. “Dude, you and your mom look exactly alike and you didn’t even realise! Plus there’s a bunch of other stuff I probably should have clued on about sooner. See, I have a niece, Isabella, who’s on the spectrum too. Has Prosopagnosia.” He smiled at Keith. “She’s not so good with faces either. And when she got diagnosed, I did a whole bunch of research so I could be a good uncle and stuff. Except I guess it wasn’t enough if it took me this long to realise what was up with you, huh? I mean, now I know, it’s kinda obvious.” He nodded towards Keith’s arms, which he had crossed again. “Pressure stim, right? Plus you’ve never been so good at talking to people, so…”

He paused, waiting for Keith to stay something, but Keith just stood there staring at him, gripping the necklace tight in his hand, completely in shock that Lance had figured it all out, and that he wanted to help.

“Listen,” said Lance, shuffling his feet again. “The thing about Izzy is, she’s not so good at getting jokes, and she takes a lot of things to heart. I know the spectrums this huge thing, so I know you could be different, but just in case, I just wanted you to know that, if I’ve ever said anything that upset you, I didn’t mean it. Well, I guess sometimes I did mean it if I got angry at you or something, but… that doesn’t mean it was true.” He looked up at Keith again. “Because… you’re _amazing_ , Keith.” He looked away quickly, starting to ramble a little. “And I know everyone calls you moody or a loner sometimes, but we’re just kidding around. No one actually thinks that. So don’t take it to heart, okay? And if I ever say something that hurts your feelings, you can just call me out, and I won’t say it again. Okay?”

He cut off his rambling, looking at Keith for a confirmation that he understood. Keith, however, was too dumbfounded to speak, so gave a blunt nod instead, which seemed to satisfy Lance, who gave him a small smile before turning to leave.

Right as he reached the door, Lance stopped and turned back. “Oh, man, I nearly forgot!” he exclaimed, back to his old excitable self. “Guess who has a sword that is _way_ bigger than yours?” He stuck out two thumbs towards his chest. “This guy!”

Keith felt his face flush. “W-what?”

“Yeah!” Lance said, oblivious. “Maybe you can show me how to use it sometime?”

“ _Show you?_ ” Keith repeated, voice cracking slightly.

“Well, obviously you’re way more experienced,” said Lance.

“ _I am?_ ”

“Well, yeah,” said Lance, a little confused. “Your Bayard’s always been a sword. Mines usually a gun.”

“Oh,” said Keith. “OH! Your Bayard can turn into a sword now?”

“Yeah,” said Lance. “What did you think I was talking about?”

“ _Nothing!_ ” Keith blurted, face turning even redder. He coughed awkwardly, fiddling with the necklace in his hand. “Um… Thank you, by the way.”

“Yeah… no problem, man,” Lance said, still looking a little confused, but he turned to leave and Keith watched the door slide shut behind him.

Keith tied the string around his neck, then ran his finger around the curve of the rubber shark where grooves had been moulded for added texture. He wondered why he had gotten so flustered, and why his heart was still beating so quickly.

* * *

 

A few days passed and Keith still hadn’t heard from Kolivan. He still hadn’t talked to his mother, either, aside from short nods when he passed her in the hall. He had been trying to avoid her, mostly. Unsure of what to say.

Then the castle received a distress signal from a nearby planet. Apparently, some Galra weren’t too happy accepting Lotor as their ruler, and were taking it out on innocent civilians.

“They’re most likely trying to draw Lotor out,” Coran told them. “They know he’s with Voltron. Planning to give him the old one-two stab-a-roo, if you ask me!”

“These imbeciles don’t even know what they’re doing,” Lotor sneered. “It shouldn’t be too much trouble for Voltron to handle this without my help. What do you think, Princess?”

“We should take them out quickly before they hurt any more innocent people,” said Allura.

“Perhaps I can also be of some help, Princess,” Krolia offered. “We still have the ship we took from the Galra.”

“That might come in handy,” Shiro agreed. “Krolia, you can defend the citizens while the rest of us take out the Galra.” Krolia nodded in agreement before running to the ships bay. “And Keith,” said Shiro, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I think you better pilot the Black Lion today.”

“What? What about you?” Keith protested.

“To be honest with you, I’m not feeling all that great,” Shiro admitted. “I’m not sure I’ll be at my best piloting Black. I’m better off staying here with Lotor and Coran and providing support from the castle.”

Keith didn’t want to agree, but he had to trust Shiro’s judgement, so he took the Black Bayard Shiro offered him and ran towards the bay with the others.

* * *

 

It felt strange being in his old paladin armour once again. No mask or oversized hood getting in the way.

“Oh, man, it is _so_ weird seeing you in that again,” said Hunk as he, Pidge, and Lance walked with Keith towards their Lions. “It feels like forever since you were last here.”

“I’ve missed so much,” Keith agreed. “What’s the deal with Lotor and Allura?”

“Ugh, don’t start,” said Pidge. “You’ll get Lance all riled up.”

“Allura can do way better than _Lotor_ ,” Lance huffed, crossing his arms.

Keith laughed. “What? Like you?”

“ _Maybe!_ ” Lance cried, insulted. “Or maybe not… I guess I’ve just gotta accept she’ll never be into me for some reason. Whatever, there are loads of hot aliens out there.”

“Hey, Keith? Aren’t you part-alien?” said Pidge, innocently. Hunk started snickering and Lance shot a glare at them both, his cheeks slightly pink. Keith was very confused.

“I hope you four aren’t chatting while civilians lives are in danger?” Allura called as they rounded the corner to see the princess standing beside the Blue Lion with Krolia getting her ship ready nearby.

“Nah,” said Pidge. “We’re all set to kick some Galra butt!”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Allura replied with an amused smile.

“You look so… grown up,” Krolia said, taking in Keith’s Paladin armour. “I wish you luck. Stay safe, my son.”

Keith attempted a smile but it came out as more of a grimace. “Thanks,” he said, stiffly.

Little did he know how much he’d regret not saying those words back.

* * *

 

The attacking Galra were far more numerous and formidable than the Paladins had originally thought, and they were proving tricky to defeat. Too busy trying to defend the civilians and shoot down the ships at the same time, they had not yet had a chance to form Voltron.

Occupied trying to shoot down enemy Galra and shield civilians with the Black Lion’s body at the same time, Keith did not have time to dodge when a ship fired point blank at the head of the Black Lion. It should have been a critical hit, had it not been for a Galra ship flying straight into the beam’s path, taking the hit. One particular Galra ship, in fact.

“ _MOM!_ ”

It was the first time he’d called her that, and why, he didn’t know. All he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears and his pounding heart as he watched the flaming ship spin out of control and crash to the planet’s floor.

He barely comprehended the Blue Lion blasting down the ship that had fired at him as he manoeuvred Black after his mother’s fallen vessel. It barely registered in his mind, when he leapt from his lion and ran towards the ship, that the Yellow Lion had thrown itself to the ground behind Keith to shield him from the gunfire.

All he could think, as he wrenched open the ships steel door, was that he had to get her out. Had to make sure she was okay. She couldn’t die, not now. Not before he told her he’d forgiven her.

* * *

 

“ _Mom? MOM?!_ ”

The sound cut through the dull white noise in Krolia’s head. Her side felt wet, the numbness of shock giving way to screaming pain. Her head felt hazy, fogged.

“Mom? Are you okay? _Mom?!_ ”

She hadn’t heard him call her that in over fifteen years. Of course, back then it was still ‘mommy’. And upon hearing him say it again, after all that had happened between them, she felt her mouth tug up into a smile.

“ _Keith…_ ”

Her voice was faint, barely even a whisper. She caught a blur of dark hair and wide, indigo eyes - eyes so much like his father’s - before she slipped from consciousness.

* * *

 

The room filled with the harsh sound of metal against metal. Sparks burst as Keith sword penetrated the torso of the training robot. He kicked it away and set to work on the next one, not pausing for breath.

“Woah, Keith, you’re gonna hurt yourself if you don’t slow down.”

Keith hadn’t noticed Lance enter the training deck, too focused on taking down the robots. He sliced the last one clean through the middle and paused to brush his damp hair out of his face.

“What do you want, Lance?”

“Kolivan called again,” Lance said, moving closer. “Wants to know when you’ll be ready to go back.”

“Not yet,” Keith replied, bluntly, calling for the next robot and getting back into a fighting stance.

“Keith, you can’t keep doing this!” Lance told him.

Keith ignored him, slashing at the robot with all his strength. He knew he was being sloppy, knew if this was a real battle he’d be dead already, but he didn’t care. He just needed to let off some steam.

“Keith, listen to me! You can’t just-”

“Lance! Just quit it, okay?!” Keith exploded. “I can’t just sit around and _wait_. I can’t-”

He broke off as the robot sparked and collapsed to the ground, Keith’s sword sticking out of its chest.

“Keith, you’ve gotta tell me what’s wrong?” Lance implored. “You got your mom into a healing pod in time. She’s gonna be fine. You just have to be patient-”

“And what if she’s not fine?!” Keith blurted, whirling around to face Lance. “What if she got hurt so bad, the pod doesn’t work? And I never got to tell her-” His voice cracked and he swallowed, looking away. He tried the level his voice before he spoke again, but when he did his voice shook. “What if she _dies_ thinking I hate her?”

Lance was oddly quiet and Keith looked back at him to see that he was just staring at him, brow slightly furrowed. That was when Keith realised he had tears streaming down his face.

He looked away quickly, hurriedly trying to wipe his eye with his knuckles. He could feel Lance’s eyes still on him.

“Well?!” he shot, glaring at Lance. “Aren’t you gonna say anything? Tell me I’m being an idiot? That she’ll be fine and that I’m just an overreacting hothead?”

Lance didn’t react to Keith shouting at him. He just stood there and took it. Then he held out his arms.

“C’mere, buddy,” he said, softly.

Keith just stared at him for a long moment, then, slowly, he shuffled forward into Lance’s outstretched arms.

It wasn’t like the hugs he shared with Shiro. Those were brief, brotherly. This was different. And Keith felt warmth spread to his core as Lance wrapped his arms around him.

Keith was stiff for a moment, not used to being held in such a way, but he found he liked the sensation, and eventually relaxed into Lance, wrapping his arms around his torso and burying his face in his shoulder. He felt the stressed and tension he’d let consume him over the past few days slowly ebb away.

“Your dumb mullet’s tickling my nose,” Lance complained, but it was lighthearted. Keith knew that now. Just a joke in an attempt to diffuse any tension.

“Stop burying your face in it then,” Keith replied with equal levity.

“Nah, it’s soft,” Lance said, his voice coming out muffled as he burrowed his face in further. Keith just smiled and pulled Lance closer, revelling in the feeling of his body heat and the soft fabric of his shirt.

They stood like that for a long time, until they heard Hunk shouting for them to inform them that the healing pod had released Krolia.

* * *

 

Krolia was in the dining hall, getting her strength back with bowls of food goo. The others stood around her, Pidge and Coran checking the healing pod statistics while the others caught her up with what had been happening while she was out. They looked up when Hunk led Keith and Lance into the room.

A little hesitantly, Krolia gave Keith a smile, and he returned it as best he could. Hunk glanced between them then at the others.

“Hey guys,” he said. “I totally forgot to show you, I taught the space mice this awesome new trick! Come see!” He practically dragged them from the room, leaving Keith alone with his mother.

“Mom,” Keith started, taking a seat at the table near Krolia. “I… I’m sorry. It was my fault you got hurt.”

“Keith, it was my choice to take that shot,” Krolia insisted. “There is nothing for you to be sorry for.”

“Except there is,” Keith said. “I’ve not exactly been the nicest to you lately…”

“It is understandable, given our history,” Krolia said. “I know you needed time. I do not blame you for acting distant.”

“But you’re my mom!” Keith insisted. “I shouldn’t _be_ distant. We should be talking! Catching up, starting over. I just…” He closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed before opening them and looking into his mother’s eyes. “I need to know why you left.”

“Keith,” Krolia said, softly, taking his hand and holding it in her own. “I never wanted to leave you, please know that. But I couldn’t stay knowing the danger that was out there. Knowing I could do something to help end it. If Zarkon had ever come to Earth, ever harmed you, and I had done nothing to stop him, I would never have forgiven myself.”

Keith gazed into her eyes, taking in all the sorrow, the sincerity, the love. Her reason for leaving was the same as the reason his friends had left their families; to protect them, to fight for a great good, a better future where they would be safe.

“It’s okay, mom,” he said, at last. “I understand.”

“Oh, Keith,” Krolia whispered, stroking his hair to the side to better see his face. “I had never dreamed you would end up in the middle of this battlefield. I wanted so much better for you.”

Keith didn’t know what to say. Krolia was silent for a moment, then she gave him a slight smile.

“You know, you remind me so much of your father,” she told him. “You have his eyes, but also, his spirit. I know if he could see you now, he would be so proud of you.”

Keith took her in, her face so foreign yet so familiar, her scent triggering memories of days long since passed, of his father’s laugh as he spun his giggling son around, of days spent watching his parents work to fix a rusty old bike, of nights spent curled up in his mother’s lap watching the stars. A dull ache throbbed in his chest, and he found himself, for the first time in a long time, missing those days, and missing his father more than ever. For the second time that day, Keith realised he was crying.

“Oh, Keith,” Krolia soothed, standing and pulling him to his feet with her. She brushed her thumb over his cheek, wiping away his tears, then she pulled him into her, cradling his head against her chest.

He stood there, breathing her in. For the first time, it really hit him that she was here, she was real. He had his mother back.

“As long as I live,” she whispered to him, “I’ll never leave you again. I love you so much, my son.”

Keith closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly like he was afraid to let go. Afraid that he’d lose her again. But he wouldn’t. She’d promised to stay, this time. And a mother never broke a promise to her child.

“I love you too, mom.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, this is finally out of my head and I can sleep.
> 
> This is my first Voltron fic so I hope you liked it! Lemme know.


End file.
